His eyes got all dreamy the way they did any time anyone said her name. “Amazing. We’re getting a puppy,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. Had he learned nothing by now.
Father’s brows rose. “A puppy is a lot of responsibility and you’re both so busy.”
“I know, but we have plans for a sitter while we work, and it will be nice to have company in the house.”
“You know, if you started having kids soon, things would get less lonely.”
The irony of not having time for a dog but having time to produce an entire child was lost on him, it seemed.
“We will when we’re ready,” Samuel said firmly.
“You should be ready soon. You’re not getting any younger.”
I was spinning my pool cue, watching the two of them go at it. Though Samuel didn’t just take it like Arthur normally did, healways ended up shrugging and changing the subject, usually to golf. My father loved golf and could talk about it forever.
So when Arthur asked how his favorite player was doing, he was off to the races, talking about that.
We finished the game victorious and switched the teams, me with Arthur and Samuel with dad.
They won the next game when Arthur sank the eight ball before our last ball went in. We then switched it again, me with Dad, and Arthur and Samuel together.
We were in the middle of the game when my father remembered he hadn’t given me my lecture yet. “How are things with Juniper?” he asked.
“Fine,” I said. Over the years I’d learned from Arthur that less is more when it came to him.
“Seems more than fine. You’ve started gifting her. So you’re serious?”
“Seems that way,” I said.
It was my turn and we were stripes. I lined up my shot with the fifteen and sunk it into the corner hole.
“Don’t be coy,” my father said, clapping me on the back as I was trying to line up my shot into the side pocket. “You obviously intend to marry her.”
I didn’t. But either way, it wasn’t his business. “We’ll see.”
Samuel scoffed. “Yeah, maybe she’ll say no.”
I flipped him off and watched as he winked at me.
I took my shot, barely missing, making it Samuel’s turn.
I stood back from the table, circling the pool cue between my hands, back and forth.
“Don’t fidget so much,” my father said, as if I could stop it. “Its a sign of an un-calm mind.”
He was interrogating me, what did he expect?
“Anyway,” he continued. “What do you think of her intentions?”
“Intentions?” I parroted.
“Well, we know she’s from a more… modest background. Do you think that’s what she cares about?”
“No,” I snapped. I instantly regretted it. Showing any kind of vulnerability gave him room to sink his claws in further.
“Are you sure? She said she worked at a coffee shop? Seems like you’re an easy ticket to a step up.”
